Since you asked … (vol. 1)

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First, a little bookkeeping. I’m going to try and do these Q&A entries every Tuesday during the season. Tuesday is the players’ day off, so there is no practice to cover and no news conference to attend.

I’ve been remiss the past couple of weeks, but just didn’t have the time what with two preseason games in five days, roster cuts and, oh yes, a special section worth of stories to write. Hope you understand.

Also, I’m back to vol. 1 because we’re into the regular-season now (and I can’t remember what number this would be if I didn’t revert to 1).

With that said, here goes …

Q: paulfromportland wants to know when I’m going to start giving new O-line coach Mike Solari some credit for the apparent success of the revamped running game.

A: I already have. I wrote about Solari’s impact during the first minicamp in May, offering, “When it comes to the Seahawks coaching staff, intensity has a new name: It’s Mike Solari.”

I also pointed out, “Since then (January, when Solari was hired), multiple league sources have said that the team’s best move during an offseason of offensive turnover would be the addition of Solari – because he’ll bring needed tenacity to the O-line and also help the development of the younger linemen with his emphasis on technique and teaching.”

After that story ran, Solari kidded me that I was probably giving him too much credit.

Q: One of the many unregistered users is wondering what happens to rookie kicker Brandon Couto and second-year defensive end Baraka Atkins once the one-game suspensions for Rocky Bernard and Jordan Babineaux end on Monday.

A: That is a good question. Having two extra roster spots, at least for a week, definitely played into the team keeping a second kicker and a fifth defensive end.

One scenario I’ve thought about is trying to sneak Coutu through waivers this weekend. If the team was to release him to clear a spot for rookie wide receiver Michael Bumpus, it’s unlikely another club would make a move on Coutu because teams have such tunnel vision this week heading into their openers.

The club wants to keep Coutu around, because he is the future at a spot where Olindo Mare’s experience and stronger leg make him the present.

A fifth D-end also is a luxury, and Atkins is eligible to go on the practice squad. But he also played very well in the preseason finale and teams are always looking for pass-rushers.

Q: Hawk9680 (is that Tez/Largent?) is having trouble comprehending the logic that was using a sixth-round draft choice on a snapper – Tyler Schmitt – who is now on injured reserve with what sounds like a pretty serious back condition.

A: The Seahawks had to get a snapper this offseason, and they wanted a long-term solution to what has been a problem since J.P. Darche had to have surgery after the season opener in 2006.

They deemed Schmitt to be that snapper. Special teams coach Bruce DeHaven scoffed at the “what were they thinking?” talk, saying that if you could get a guy who would be your snapper for the next 10 years, you’d be crazy not to use a sixth-round pick on him.

The team – and the entire league – did not know about Schmitt’s existing back problem. It was not detected during the extensive physical players are given at the scouting combine. When Schmitt’s back started bothering him during training camp, the team doctors did additional tests and found the problem.

Coach Mike Holmgren put it this way, “He’s a young man and he’s got a back like mine (Holmgren is 60). It’s not good.”

Everyone laughed, but Holmgren wasn’t kidding.

How did Schmitt’s back problem slip through the well-monitored cracks? Backs are strange things (mine sure is). There can be serious issues, but you can’t feel them or detect them. That’s why when former coach Chuck Knox used to stash players on IR, the injury was usually a back. The league office could fly the player in for a physical, but it’s almost impossible to prove there was – or wasn’t – something wrong with the guy’s back (at least that was the case in the pre-MRI days).

Q: Several people were torqued by decisions that were made on the final roster cut, especially the one involving Bumpus and the idea that T.J. Duckett might be retained over Justin Forsett.

A: I use this as an opportunity to warn against basing everything on what a player does in preseason games. Yes, that is the exam time for all the schooling that goes on during training camp. But so much of the evaluation process is rooted in what the player has been able to do – or not do – in practice.

This is especially true with Holmgren, and it extends to plays – not just players. He must see a play work in practice to include in that week’s game plan. Likewise, he must see a player do the right things on the practice field to dial up his number on game day.

Fans don’t get to watch practice, of course, but there’s more to the evaluation process than what you see on four nights in August.